Jacksonville: Where Florida begins! OK, maybe not technically, but that’s the city’s official marketing slogan and who are we to nitpick?

Nestled in the northeastern corner of the state, Jacksonville is geographically one of the largest cities in the U.S., with 841 square miles of canvas for the city’s 841,000 people to work with. (OK, again, there may be more than 841,000 people, but our poetic license says it’s close enough). The city’s culture and climate is more South Georgia than South Florida, with a strong military presence, warm weather, the St. Johns River, and the NFL’s Jaguars. And here’s a fact that catches many non-Floridians by surprise: It’s just 20 miles from downtown to the Atlantic Ocean. Wait! Before you slip on that speedo, how bout we get you situated first, hmm?

Having trouble with Craigslist Jacksonville? Can't find that special apartment for rent on Apartment Finder or Zillow? Apartment List is here to help!

Big Talbot Island State Park

Cpl. Jody Carter playing guitar at the downtown Riverwalk Park

Jacksonville's 250 year-old Treaty Oak Tree

Renting in Jacksonville

There’s an Apt. for Jax: Apartments make up the majority of your rental options in Jacksonville. There’s a good amount of condos, too, but many of those are former apartments that have been converted. Self-sustaining holographic bubble pods haven’t been invented yet, so as you might imagine, there aren’t many of those to choose from in Jacksonville.

The Cost: You know how that three-year-old copy of Super Mario’s Modern Warfare costs less than its shiny new sequel? Well the same holds true for Jacksonville apartments. You can find 1-bedroom units for $600-$750 in many of the city’s older complexes, while the newer ones with ahh-inducing appliances will run you $800-$900. And take heart, Kiplinger rates the Cost of Living Index for Jacksonville at 94 (U.S. average is 100), so that means more money in your pocket for savory beef jerky or crisp carrot sticks, depending on your persuasion.

When to Pounce: For a better deal, pick your pad in the fall or winter. With Jacksonville University, University of North Florida, and Edward Waters College, thousands of students are competing with you for an apartment in the spring and summer. If you can home in on your home-to-be between October and February, you may be able to save a few bucks; but please, spend that money on something other than beef jerky.

Where the heck is Jacksonville’s Eastside?

You’ll often hear Jacksonvillians (yes, that’s the correct though rarely-used term) refer to three main parts of the city:
Northside, Southside and Westside. “Wait a second,” you say, “aren't we missing a side?” Astute observation, dear apartment-seeker! While there may technically be an east side of Jacksonville, no one mentions it; kinda like how you don’t mention your hardcore crush on Susan Boyle. Instead, everything east of the Intracoastal Waterway (a narrow but long body of water that runs parallel to the river) is referred to as “the beaches” (Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach, all separate municipalities), while most of the turf west of the Intracoastal is just called the Southside. The Southside is in many ways the center of the city, with the massive outdoor Town Center mall and hundreds of businesses centered there. It’s also where many people live. Mandarin is another popular suburban center where apartments are plentiful as well as food and shopping options.

Downtown Jacksonville is still a work in progress. Home to a handful of skyscrapers, the area is known much more for its 9-5 rush than its residential dwellings. However, if you’re OK with spending a good chunk of change, there are some eye-catching options overlooking the river.

If you’re looking for a little more culture, Avondale, Riverside and San Marco are three neighborhoods to check out. All three offer a nice mix of standalone restaurants, shops and pubs, with San Marco standing out as the prettiest and priciest of the trio.

You may be able to find the most inexpensive apartments on the north and west sides of Jacksonville. Arlington is the best option if you’re going to live in the northern part of the city.

Exploring the First Coast

Jacksonville’s Identity: Jacksonville’s two main nicknames say a lot about its identity. You’ll often hear it referred to as the “River City” because the historic St. Johns River runs right through the center of town (hope you like bridges!). TV news anchors with lopsided makeup-to-personality ratios will often refer to the whole region as “The First Coast”, a nod to Jacksonville’s roots (St. Augustine, the oldest city in the U.S., is 30-minutes south of Jax) and it’s placement on I-95. When most non-Floridians think of Florida, they think of Orlando’s theme parks or Miami’s star-studded beaches, but Jacksonville’s history is much more aligned with the South than the tourism-driven attractions of its Florida neighbors. That can be good (shrimp and grits, southern charm) and bad.

Bring a Car: There are no significant public transportation options to speak of, so a vehicle will be necessary. The traffic can be rough heading towards downtown in the morning and going towards the beaches in the afternoon. A good rule of thumb for driving in Jacksonville is figure just about everything will take a half-hour’s drive. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for Mickey and his gang of merrymakers, Disney World is 2.5 hrs away.

Jaguars: Real and Less Real: Besides the great proximity to the beach, Jacksonville has one of the largest urban park systems in the country. The Jacksonville Zoo is a pretty nice medium-sized zoo, and an affordable way to spend the day. A handful of museums are sprinkled throughout the city, with the Cummer Museum of Art standing out as the most impressive. The Jacksonville Landing is a picturesque place for downtown dining and shopping. The Jacksonville Jaguars reign supreme when it comes to sports (hope you like teal!), and EverBank Field is where they call home. It’s also the home of the annual Florida-Georgia college football game, which turns a big section of downtown into a massive outdoor cocktail party for three days (hope you like RVs!). Minor league baseball is also nicely represented at the spiffy Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville with the Jacksonville Suns. The Veterans Memorial Arena also hosts the ABA’s Giants and major music acts when they come into town.

OK, you’re all set for your new life full of warm weather, beach access, and Jaguars! Good luck! Now, about that speedo…

February 2019 Jacksonville Rent Report

Welcome to the February 2019 Jacksonville Rent Report. Jacksonville rents declined over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Jacksonville rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the state and nation.

February 2019 Jacksonville Rent Report

Welcome to the February 2019 Jacksonville Rent Report. Jacksonville rents declined over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Jacksonville rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the state and nation.

Jacksonville rents declined slightly over the past month

Jacksonville rents have declined 0.2% over the past month, but are up moderately by 2.4% in comparison to the same time last year. Currently, median rents in Jacksonville stand at $880 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,080 for a two-bedroom. Jacksonville's year-over-year rent growth leads the state average of 1.5%, as well as the national average of 1.0%.

Rents rising across cities in Florida

Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in the city of Jacksonville, but across the entire state. Of the largest 10 cities that we have data for in Florida, 9 of them have seen prices rise. The state as a whole logged rent growth of 1.5% over the past year. Here's a look at how rents compare across some of the largest cities in the state.

Looking throughout the state, Pembroke Pines is the most expensive of all Florida's major cities, with a median two-bedroom rent of $2,420; of the 10 largest cities in the state that we have data for, Cape Coral, where a two-bedroom goes for $1,110, is the only major city to see rents fall year-over-year (-0.1%).

Orlando, Tampa, and St. Petersburg have all experienced year-over-year growth above the state average (3.1%, 3.0%, and 2.9%, respectively).

Jacksonville rents more affordable than many comparable cities nationwide

As rents have increased moderately in Jacksonville, a few other large cities nationwide have also seen rents grow modestly. Jacksonville is still more affordable than most similar cities across the country.

Jacksonville's median two-bedroom rent of $1,080 is below the national average of $1,170. Nationwide, rents have grown by 1.0% over the past year compared to the 2.4% rise in Jacksonville.

While Jacksonville's rents rose moderately over the past year, many cities nationwide also saw increases, including Phoenix (+3.6%), San Francisco (+2.7%), and Denver (+2.5%).

Renters will find more reasonable prices in Jacksonville than most comparable cities. For example, San Francisco has a median 2BR rent of $3,090, which is more than two-and-a-half times the price in Jacksonville.

For more information check out our national report. You can also access our full data for cities and counties across the U.S. at this link.

Methodology - Recent Updates:

Data from private listing sites, including our own, tends to skew toward luxury apartments, which introduces sample bias when estimates are calculated directly from these listings. To address these limitations, we’ve recently made major updates to our methodology, which we believe have greatly improved the accuracy and reliability of our estimates.

Read more about our new methodology below, or see a more detailed post here.

Methodology:

Apartment List is committed to making our rent estimates the best and most accurate available. To do this, we start with reliable median rent statistics from the Census Bureau, then extrapolate them forward to the current month using a growth rate calculated from our listing data. In doing so, we use a same-unit analysis similar to Case-Shiller’s approach, comparing only units that are available across both time periods to provide an accurate picture of rent growth in cities across the country.

Our approach corrects for the sample bias inherent in other private sources, producing results that are much closer to statistics published by the Census Bureau and HUD. Our methodology also allows us to construct a picture of rent growth over an extended period of time, with estimates that are updated each month.

About Rent Reports:

Apartment List publishes monthly reports on rental trends for hundreds of cities across the U.S. We intend these reports to be a source of reliable information that help renters and policymakers make sound decisions, and we invest significant time and effort in gathering and analyzing rent data. Our work is covered regularly by journalists across the country.

We are continuously working to improve our methodology and data, with the goal of providing renters with the information that they need to make the best decisions.

Renter Confidence Survey

Apartment List has released Jacksonville’s results from the third annual Apartment List Renter Satisfaction Survey. This survey, which drew on responses from over 45,000 renters nationwide, provides insight on what states and cities must do to meet the needs of the country’s 111 million renters.

"Jacksonville renters expressed general satisfaction with the city overall," according to Apar...

Apartment List has released Jacksonville’s results from the third annual Apartment List Renter Satisfaction Survey. This survey, which drew on responses from over 45,000 renters nationwide, provides insight on what states and cities must do to meet the needs of the country’s 111 million renters.

"Jacksonville renters expressed general satisfaction with the city overall," according to Apartment List. "However, ratings varied greatly across different categories, indicating that even hough renters love Jacksonville, some aspects can be better."

Key Findings in Jacksonville include the following:

Jacksonville renters gave their city a B- overall.

The highest-rated categories for Jacksonville were state and local taxes and affordability, which received scores of A+ and A-, respectively.

The areas of concern to Jacksonville renters are public transit (C), recreational activities (C), commute time (C+) and pet-friendliness (C+).

Jacksonville millennials are unsatisfied with their city, giving it an overall rating of C, while renters who are parents are more satisfied, giving it a B+.

Jacksonville earned similar scores to other Florida cities like Tampa (B) and Saint Petersburg (B-), but earned higher marks than Miami (C+) and Orlando (C).

Jacksonville did relatively well compared to similar cities nationwide, including Los Angeles (C+), Memphis (C) and Philadelphia (C+).